Apparatus for handling materials in strand or rope form



April 17, 1956 J. J. FRANKLIN 2,742,143

APPARATUS FOR HANDLING MATERIALS IN STRAND OR ROPE FORM y Filed Aug. 17, 1953 4 Sheets-Sheet l I I I I i I Ti- I r. .I

II'II III. .II'II' IM INvIaNToRV `IoI-IN `FRANKLIN BY I-IIs ATTORNEYS 3a mfg-Lf April 17, 1956 J. J. FRANKLIN APPARATUS FOR HANDLING MATERIALS IN STRAND OR ROPE FORM Filed Aug. 1'?, 1955 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 :NvENToR JoHN J. FRANKLIN BY HIS ATTORNEYS #www /75104071/ April 17, 1956 J. J. FRANKLIN 2,742,143

APPARATUS RoR HANDLING MATERIALS IN STRAND 0R ROPE RoRM Filed Aug. 17, 195s l 4 sheets-sheet 5 NS 34 |4 L? 28 INVENTOR JOHN J. FRANKLIN BY HIS ATTORNEYS April 17, 1956 J. J. FRANKLIN 2,742,143

APPARATUS FOR HANDLING MATERIALS IN STRAND OR ROPE FORM Filed Aug. 17, 195s 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR JOHN J, FRANKLIN BY Hls ATTORNEYS 'rriate'rialj in strand orlropetorrn, andf has Ivspecial applicatroni to apparatus in whichr the material' is handled under substantially constant't'e1j1si 011 y,

,Inposssngmatrialsfin Sfrdgercpe ferm, it is fre- 'quently, necessary tomaintainhthe' material under a' con- United States Patent 50 ,stam tension 'Especially when hangiigjtextnes, the

shrinkage or stretchofthe` material'requiresthatspecial ycompen'sating apparatusnbe provided in order to maintain thedesir'edfd'egreeof tension. s 4 l A 'A-"prior, method of compensating tor. lslrrilnkage and 'stretch of themater'ial has been to changer the speed of tliel'iaxidling rolls in accordance with'theften-s'ion or slack existing in the material. VTlievchan'ge in speed iseflected at'itor'natically byl feeler "guities and'tlielike, orjnianually 'underthe supervision of the operator of Vthe machine. s In veitherevent, the Aapparatus'is expensive, and the'change in` haiidling'speed' lagsV behind the bufild-up'fofV tension or slkfwhich results' in non-uniform treatment of the r`n`a- Another' method for maintaining 'constantv'teinsion on 2,742,143 Patented .Apr- 17s, 195,6

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. "2 l Eiigurev 1 isaplan view of a washer embodying handling apparatus made inaccordance with lthe present invention; Fig. ,2 isy avertical sectionalA view taken onthe line 2-`2"o,fFig. 1; i .i .A l i VPig. 2q is amendV elevetion illustrating schematically the' voperation of the upper and lower rolls of the present invention; y n y s j Fig. 3 isanenlaIge'd trans, ,ferse sectional View, vtaken on rhqiineesofriaz; ,l

miFig.v 4 is a sectional view taken on the. Iine'ij-dr of Fis; Fig- 5 isa frasmstary sfectprial. View showinaa modi.- fiied forml of the'invefntion wherein aspringb'iasfis'provided 611th@ prersqeeze roll.; A Fig. 6 is 'a modiiiedfoimhofsthe invention wherein .a single upper handling roll is employed;

` Fig. 7` is a `further modification wherein the upper roll is in the 'forrnbf aslatteld' reel; A V Y Y fFig. 8 is ay sectional view on theline 8-8 ofFig. 7;

` Fig. 9 discloses a further inodiiication of thel upper rolls triadev in accordance with the present inventionjaiid, Figs. 10 tol 12 are views of modified forms of lower rolls 'made yin accordance with'thepresent invention.A

rThe'invention conterllilaifs apparatus in which th niaterial is 4threaded in zig'izag runs." between upper and` er series` or rolls( The upper roll-s are driven and co -rol the handling speed'whereas the Vlowerfrolls are idle, servtljie rriateriallconsistsoflooping the, material finto' a series of sections and' 'delivering anon; eajch jsectien by a pair of positively driven rolls.l `Comp'ensatin'g apparatus is providedfor each pair of`rolls to determinethe slack orv shrink in the material 'and regulatevv the handling rate of the rolls. The'compeln'satingapparatust is very expensive a'ndis'highly susceptible to' mechanicalfailure.

In'another coiiventionalfimachine, there'is apo'sitfive fee'dat only the delivery end -of the'machine, andthe materialis free togslide 'over the intermediate" positively 'driven rollsf Inapparat'us*otfthischaractenit is impossible` tojprovide "a squeezel on the 'material 'as itV passes" overV the intermediate driven' rolls, land 'asa result,` the treatment ofthe 4material 'is lesse'tectiveithanwhen itis squeezed upon each pass of the-material over' a drivenfroll.

n With the foregoing-in mind, 'a `prinraryobject ofthe 'present invention' lis` tof' provide novel handling apparatus comprising constant. Vspeed rolls 'which automatically compensate for shrinkage and stretch 'of the material being handled... 1 f t 'Anotherobject of thepreserit' invention is-to provide handling* apparatus .of the character set'forth in which the tension in the materialxis regulatable by simple mecharii cal'adjustme'nt.

. Afurther'objectV of the present invention ist to vprovide handling apparatus inwhich the material passesbetwee'n .l

squeeze rolls in 'whichtheihandling speedautomatically compensates for shrinkand stretch of` the material. Sti/11 A.another object'of the present `invention isto' provide handling apparatus having the'features and 'char'- ',actelistics set forth which isV of relatively simplifiedlconstruction, and Vis entirely nefficient 'andelective in operation and use'. s

:These and other objects of the invention and the various `features andv details of the construction and operation "thereof are more' fullyi set .forth hereinafter' wtlrreference tojthe raccompanying drawings `in which.: f

ing only to regulate; the tension in the material and insure eii'e'ctive compensation for shrinkage and elongation of the material. 'Inl accordance with the invention`,"the"driven rolls are tapered whereby L'they surface speed of the rolljgi's Ygreater at the large end of the roll 'than' at thefsrnallend. vvThe materialisllooped' over 'each driven' roll land 'aht'ol matically finds a location alongvthe surface thereofwhizch eifectshandling of'theinaterial at theproperzspedto maintainl the tension at thedesired level. The novel rati;- rangement'fof rolls disclosedherein'i-s ppliaBle/to -ariy ,type ofv strand material; however,- for purposes of description-'the invention'will 'befdescibe'd in connection with Vapparatusfor handling continuus lengths of textile'-i'nf terials in strand or ropeform. i

` Referringnow "tof the drawings VAand' "o're particularly to the embodiment showninFigs. 1 to`4 thereof, theV invention is shownas applied to'a washer. l

As seen inu Figs. 1 and4 2, the material M passes through ani elongated tank'14. f The tank is partitionedlas indicated at 15 to provide a plurality of liquid 'baths for treating the material. which extends across the full width of ther tank","and'pas'ses between-the first pair of a series of" cooperating upper and lower tapered `squeeze rolls 17 and'18 respectively` VThe material then loop-s under the 'first of a series'of lotf tom restraining rolls 19, reach of which serves to maintain the material immersed in the bath and regulate the tension in the material, as described more fully hereinafter. Tlie material is then looped alternately over the lower squeeze r'Olls'lS Vandwunder the restraining rolls 19, and is Witlidrawn ,through a slot Z0 at 4,the rightV hand end of the tank. The material is fed through the tank by the lower squeeze lrolls 18 which areA driven -at the same constant speedby drive mechanism indicatedY generally at 21.

' In accordance with fthe invention, the rolls 18 automa'tically cloir'ipensateV for the shrinkageor, stretching of the material in theliquid-baths. The rolls 13 are tapered as shown and by means of this Vconstruction`,.the handling speed' at the large end of the Vrolls is substantially Agreater than at thesrnall end thereof. :Each loop of the material M finds a'location along the roll 1S where thesurface speed is such as tol maintain the material underagiven constant tension. If'the-fmaterial stretches, the handling speed must increase' to compesatefor it, and 'toltacco'rljp plish '.this, the lo'op of material will travell Vautomatical-ly The' material 'entersthe tank through a Vsl'otf f toward the large end of the tapered rolls.

which are disposed adjacent the bottom of the tank 14 .in spaced relation to thetapered rolls 18.. Each restraining roll is mounted forrotation on a shaft 23 by means of plain bearings 24 `at opposite ends of the roll. In yorder to .regulateV the` tension, in the material between rolls 18 and 19, the shaft 23 is mounted for angular adjustment Vrelativeto the roll 18. With the restraining roll 19 generally horizontal, as illustrated in full lines in Fig. 3, the tension is. relatively high and when the roll kis inclined as indicated in broken lines, the tension becomes relatively low or slack. AIf the material becomes slack, the loop automatically moves to the large end of the tapered roll to increase the handling speed and tension. automatically moves to the small end where the handling speed and the tension are reduced to the desired level. Tilting the bottom roll, as indicated in broken lines, increases the tendencyof the loop of material to travel to the right, i. e., towards the smaller end of the roll, and therefore reduces the tension in the material. On the other hand, reducing the angle of inclination of the lower roll increases tendency for the loop of material to move to the left, andcauses a greater tension in the material. Thus, by simple adjustment of the shaft23, it is possible to regulate the tension in the material to any desired degree. j

The principle of operation of the invention is illustrated ,schematically in Fig. 2a of thedrawings. Referring to Fig.k 2a,k when the material is slack, it approaches the upper tapered roll 18 in a vertical plane and contacts theV roll 18 at point a located on a horizontal line passing through the center line of the roll. Due to the taper and inclination of the shaft of this roll, the material is car- -ried by" the surface of the roll toward the large end of the roll alongline a, b tothe point b. When the material has moved to point b, the point of initial contact of the material with the roll 18 will have moved from point a to Ythe'point c from which the material will be carried by the roll alongthe'path c, d to the point d. Thus, it will be apparent that as the roll 18 continues to rotate, the point of contact of the material with the roll progressively approaches the large end of the roll and, due to the increasing diameter ofthe roll, the speed of the rope is increased until slack is removed from the material as indicated, for example, at point e. Y y A When slack has been removed as described, the material will then be in contact with the undersurface of the lowery roll 19 at point f thereby creating some slight ten sion inthe material. Under these conditions, if the axis ofthe roll 19 is inclined, the material will immediately move in theopposite direction (to the right) along the roll 19 to relieve the tension. As the material moves toward point g on the lower roll'19, movement of the material toward the large end of the upper roll 18 ceases.

At the same time, the slight tension causes the material to follow the shortest path in contact with the tapered roll 18. The shortest path is shown by the line e, lzv and because of the tension or pull on the material, the point of contact of the material with the roll 18 will approach the small end of the roll thereby causing a progressive movement of the material toward the small end of the roll 18 thus reducing the speed of the material and tending to again cause slack therein. Substantial equilibrium If they material has excessive tension, the loop.

Vopposed guide plates 26.

is then established although the material will continue to a slight extent to hunt back and forth along the upper roll 18.

The tendency for the material to travel toward the right on the lower roll 19 is greater when the axis of this roll is inclined than when it isA substantially horizontal and, therefore, more tension is created in'reaching an equilibrium position when the roll is'horizontal lthan when inclined. Thus, the amount of tension desired for the material being processed may be controlledy by the inclination of the axis of roll 19.

As shown in Fig. l, if the material shrinks as it passes through the washer, it will find locations on the tapered rolls successively nearer the small ends of the rolls to compensate for the shrinkage. VMeans is provided at the entering end of the tank to guide the material to a selected portion of the iirst tapered roll so as to determine the rate of feed of the material into the washer. .If it is `found that the material has a tendency to run olf the small end of the rolls, the entering speed may be increased by shifting the material towards the large end of the rst roll. On the-other hand, if there is stretching in thematerialas it passes Vthrough the tank and the material has a tendency to pass oif the large ends of the rolls, the material is simply shifted towards the smaller end of the rst .tapered roll. A- suitable mechanism for effecting the above-described adjustment of the entering speed of the material is disclosed in Figs. l and 2, and comprises a pair of upstanding guide fingers 11 mounted for movementtransversely of the tank on an elongated rotary screw member 12 and a fixed slide rod 13. Thus, by rotating the screwmember 12, it is possible to adjust the rate 'ofthe material entering the tank. lf it'is desired to provide for further adjustment of the speed of the material beyondthe range aordedby the simple adjustment of the guide fingers 11, a variable speed transmission may be provided in the drive mechanism 21, for example, as shown at Z2 in Fig. -l.'

To afford the angular adjustment of the shaft 23 described above, the left hand end of the shaft is pivotally mounted inthe tank 14 asA indicated at 2S and the right hand end is mounted for vertical adjustment between Vertical adjustment of the right hand end is effected manually by an adjusting rod 27 which is pivotally secured to the shaft 23 at its lower extremity and isformed with a handle 28 at its upper extremity.k Means is provided at 29 to lock the rod in adjusted position. Thus, by simply adjusting the handle 28, it is possible to regulate the tension in the strand material M. This feature of the invention is especially desirable in plants where the equipment is employed to handle a wide variety of materials which must be handled under widely different degrees of tension. When handling heavy materials which require heavy tension, the shaft 23 is adjusted to its lower limit position, and when handling fragile materials which require light tension, the shaft 23 is adjusted to its upper limit position.

The present invention permits the use of the squeeze rolls '17 and 18 to positively feed the material. In the present instance, a light squeeze is provided on the material by the weight of the upper'squeeze roll 17 bearing on the lower roll 18. To this end, the roll 17 is free for vertical movement into engagement with the roll 18. The roll 17 is journalled for rotation on a square shaft 31 by meansfof bushings '32, 32. The shaft is held against lateral Vdisplacement between vertical guide plates V33, 33 and 34, 34 mounted respectively-on the right and left hand walls of the tank. ToA prevent axial displacement of the shaft 31, a pin 35 secured in the left hand end of the shaft sslidably engaged in registering vertical slots 36 in the guide plates 34. Thus, the roll 17 is free to bear upon the roll 18 to provide a nip 37 for squeezing the excess liquid fromV the `strand material M.

l a l estante@ pir/.orally secured.I to. Ytheshaft 31 Lateaeh. of,v the. .opposite Springs. .43.,- 43 .bias .theunpemoll .l'l dewwaridlv. `erteilen.

thelowerroll ,18, WithaTPrLedeteLmined kspring force.v

Fighe,mnsnatesanther tembedimentot.thetinrenneil asin. .the previous .embodiments f.wththe.,.exeepftir1 that thereis. no squeeze appliedto the? material as `it 4is. looped. over,- the ,roll; 451.* This `.roll provides? compensation` vfor theh'rinkage..andstretchingtofz the, .materiales it. .passes t throughrtheebathiin thesarne manne'nas. describediabove in .connectionwith lFigs.: 1` to.4." Themttialwhich.. is'. `looped .Over .the r0.11545 .automatically .r'1. .is..a ,10eati9n...

"` normalto the. direetien.e.f.,.ttare1.Ofgthemeferiab meane onthe Qroll; which, provides afihandlingH-speedw in. accord;

ance. with1 the. rate of trauel. of,u the.` vIpnaterfialy throughLI melanie;.compensatingfffrehrinkase. and stretching! AS.

tothedesir,edt angler eratedlsurfaceA of theislats,P l-constitutes u a surface.. As. in.the.pr,evi0, .etnb.

roll shown in.. these.. figures .isr espleial1y5A suitable for handling materialswin a dyeir'lgvprocessV wherein it isdesirable to minimize` the-contact'-betWeen-the material andxthe;handlingrolls... j a t It is. not fnecessary that.the...nip 2.31 ybe.v horizontal when employing squeeze, IOHS.- 21SY disclosed.` in Figs. 1 to 4, but theinvention is operable when the rolls are mounted ateanyfgiven` angle As-shown--in-Fig.-l9, it is possible to mount rolls 53 and 54 which are similar to the rolls 17 and 18 so that the nip 55 is inclined downwardly toward the large end of the tapered roll. The material looped over the roll 53 finds a location thereon which handles the material at a speed which compensates for shrinkage or stretch in the material and provides the desired tension therein in accordance with the inclination of the restraining members at the bottom of the tank.

The invention does not require that the bottom restraining member be positively adjusted. For example,

u aispetedlthtll the-rotary axis` of,.the..roll45..is, hprizontaland suitablel drivemeans .,is1 indicated `Aat 46..` The operation on this L embodimentaof. the CVinvention*is.A substanti'allyy the ,i sarna.`

' within the purviewtthe preStent.intended` eind urging longitudinal hm vement thereojtowards the bythe .material being; determined., elite itis practical ,to have the bottom roll free to move angularly. This is illustrated in Fig. 10 wherein the bottom roll 56 is mounted for rotationron a shaft 57. The shaft is pivotally mounted at one end 58 and is free for vertical movement at the other end between guide plates 59. A footmember 60 is secured to the free end of 'the shaft 57 to prevent the roll 56 from bearing against the bottom of the tank. In this embodiment of the invention, the tension in the material is dependent pri `marily upon the weight of the bottom roll,v and the handling apparatus compensates for shrinkage and stretch of the material to maintain this tension relatively constant.

Fig. 1l illustrates another form of bottom restraining member which constitutes a tapered roll 66.which is rotatably mounted in the tank at a fixed inclination relative to the axis `of rotation of the upper driven rolls.

. with. a. flange 62 ,adiaeenteahiend 6 nights .enihadirnentpt the...iaseatienatharhaadlinstaleren eenettemptedte .exhaust.the-.Henry:forms andeemhm particular 'embodiments of fthez inyentlp ,have herein illustrated,andmdescribedkitr vislnotminte A limit .the invention to 4 such ac lislclosures,yl and -chang` modifications maybe. madethereinlarid'theA d, thefscope, of thefollowingpclairnsn` I claim; v

l. Apparatus for handlingscontinuousllengthsypf, rial. in strandLlropeandlile form, comprisingartape ed roll mountedlferrtation .about,axedaidssubstantially.

tafeedsaid materalltqsaid roll alfordia fte@ lateral.. movement of the material along the ro`ll, an elongated. restraininsmember disposed. insaaeed relati 1.140 'said taperedrell. substantially Hemel 10,111 ditec'tien-lefitravel..

of the material and engageablevtheneby and'dn" emehwu, fory saidtapered rolloper' e;to` rot -same ata predetermined epeedtee renee them Aelxlat determinedbv thefrediusj.Otherbllatftherp nt 0f.,

tee; a;

.Onsltudinal rneveine he met@ args-j wardsthe eeeiidetald relttome dal. theftensienm. the :mate al ,Creatina aenunterafetin .f9re1 saidrolland the tension in ,thehmateriabl Y u 2. Apparatusaeeerdinste .eleilalwhereid drestraia; insmemher comprises.aerlindrealralmo. mter.. tion .about an .generally.traneversehe d....e.e met.. travel of the material'.l

3,. Apparatus-aee9rdinat9 .elaitnl Wherea-ltaidrestraining member comprises a tapered roll mounteddorv rotation about an axis generally transverse the direction of travel of vthe material and tapered in the same direction as said first-mentioned tapered roll.

4. Apparatus according to claim l wherein said restraining member comprises a rod mounted generally transverse the direction of travel of the material.

5. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said tapered roll comprises a pair of spaced radial end plates and a plurality of axial slats spanning between said end plates adjacent their outer peripheries, one of said end plates being of smaller diameter than the other, and said slats forming the tapered roll surface. v

6. Apparatus for handling continuous lengths of material in strand, rope and like form, comprising a tapered roll mounted `for rotation about a fixed axis substantially normal to the direction of travel of the material, a squeeze roll mounted adjacent said tapered roll and contacting the same along its length, means to feed said material to said roll aifording free lateral movement of the material along the roll, an elongated restraining member disposed in spaced relation to said tapered roll substantially normal to the direction of travel of the material and engageable thereby, and drive means for said tapered roll operable to rotate the same at a predetermined speed to advance the material at a rate determined by the radius of the roll at the point of engagement thereof by said material, the point of Vengagenzienti by said material being determinedrauto-V matically by the tension in the material between the roll and the restraining member. 1

7.' Apparatus according to claimv 6 including means to bias said'squeezev roll intoprcssure engagement with said tapered roll.

8. Apparatus for handling continuous lengths of material in strand, rope andlike form, comprising a tapered roll mounted for rotation about a tixed axis substantially normal to the direction of travel of the material, means to' feed saidvmaterial to said roll affording free lateral movement of the material along the roll, an elongated restraining member disposed in spaced relation vto said tapered roll substantially normal to the direction of travel of the material and engageable thereby, vmeans to incline said restraining member upwardly in the direction oi' taper of saidtapered roll, and drive means for saidtapered roll operable to rotate the same at a predetermined speedto advance the material at a rate determinedy by the radius `of the roll at the point of engagement thereof byV said f material, the point of engagement by said material being determined automatically by the tension in the material between said restraining members.

9. Apparatus according to claim 8 wherein the means to incline 4said restraining member comprises a pivotal mounting for said restraining member adjacent one end thereof and means at the other end affording vertical movement thereof.

10. Apparatus according to claim 9 including means for positioning said other end ofthe restraining member vertically relative to said pivoted end.

1l. Apparatus for handling continuous lengths of material in strand, rope and like form comprising a tapered roll mounted for rotation about a xed axis substantially normal to the direction of travel of the material, elon-Y gatedrestraining members disposed in spaced relation at opposite sides of said tapered roll substantially normal to the direction of travel of the material and engageable" thereby, means to feed the material to oneof said members affording free lateral movement of the material along the length ofsaid one member, and drive means for said tapered roll operable to rotate the same at a predeter-V mined speed to advance the material at a rate determined by the radius of the roll at point of engagement of theroll member by the material being determined automatically by the tension in the material between said restraining members.

12. VApparatus for handling continuous lengths of material in strand, ropel and like forrncomprising a series of. tapered lrolls tapering in the same direction and mounted for rotation about fixed aligned axes substantially normal to the direction of travel of the material, means to feed' the material to the first roll 'of said series affording free Y lateral movement of the material along thelength of thevv rolls of said series, a series of elongated restraining members each disposed below and intermediate a pair of adjar cent tapered rolls in spaced relation thereto substantially i of the rolls at the points of engagement thereof by said material, the points of engagement by said material being determined automatically by the tension in the material between the restraining members of said series.

13. Apparatus'for handling continuous lengths of mate- Arial in strand, rope and like form, comprising a series of tapered rolls tapering in the same direction and mounted for rotation about fixed aligned axes substantially normal to the direction of travel of the material, a like number of squeeze rolls mounted adjacent said tapered rolls, each contacting one of said tapered rolls along its length, means 'to feed the material to the first roll of said series affording free lateral movement Vof the material along the length of the rolls of said series, a series of elongated restraining members each disposed belowA and intermediate a pair p of adjacent parallel tapered rolls in spaced relation thereto 30 substantially normal to the direction of travelof the material and engageable thereby, means to incline said restraining members upwardly in the direction of taper of said tapered rolls, and Vdrive' means for said rolls operable to rotate the same at a predetermined speed to advance the material at a rate determined by the radius of the rolls at the points of engagement thereof by said material, the point of engagement'by said material being determined automatically by the tension in the material between the y roll and the restrainingmember. 40"

References Cited inthe file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,158,547 Lawson May 16, 1939 2,333,278 Truesdail NOV. 2, 1943 Y FOREIGN PATENTS Y 858,002 Germany Dec. 4, 1952 

